NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 23 Natural Enemy (1)

Jordan was flying, the Bulls were moving, but there was one team ahead of them, the Detroit Pistons.

The Pistons, built on Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer, are on their way to success with the combined efforts of general manager Jack McCloskey and head coach Chuck Daly.With the aging of the Celtics, the Pistons began to show their kingship in the Eastern Conference of the NBA in the mid-to-late 20s.

The Pistons team was nicknamed "The Bad Boys" because of their rough style of play and aggressive moves. In the 1986-1987 season, they had Thomas, Lambiel, Adrian Dantley (Adrian Dantley), Joe Dumars (Joe Dumars), Vinnie Johnson (Vinnie Johnson), Rick Mahon, Dennis Dennis Rodman (Dennis Rodman), John Salley (John Salley) and other giants. In May 1987, the Pistons broke into the Eastern Conference Finals and fought the Celtics in seven games. Although they lost the tiebreaker, the momentum of the Eastern Conference's change of dynasty was obvious.From the 5-1987 season, the Pistons replaced the Celtics and became the benchmark team in the East, and also became an enemy that the Bulls could not get around.

The cloud hanging over the Chicago Coliseum turned out not to be Larry Bird's Celtics, or "Magic" Johnson's Lakers, but Isaiah Thomas' Pistons.Before beating the Pistons, the Bulls didn't even have to think about the Finals.Johnny Bach: "Detroit is our obstacle."

The rise of the Pistons began in 1981, when they selected Indiana University's Isaiah Thomas with the No. 2 pick in the first round.Thomas is not tall, registered at 6 feet 1 inches (1.85 meters), which may not be true, but he is extremely talented, intelligent, and has no fear of anything.If Thomas was 6-foot-6, he would be Michael Jordan, Pistons publicist Matt Dobek said.

That year, the Dallas Mavericks held the No. [-] pick. They were actually considering drafting Thomas, but in the pre-draft trial, Thomas tried his best to get the Mavericks management to give up on him because he didn't want to play in Dallas—his original words Yes, he didn't want to step in "that cowboy shit."Thomas succeeded, and the Mavericks management finally selected Mark Aguirre.If Thomas hadn't scared the Mavericks away, the Pistons probably wouldn't have had the chance to climb that high later.

However, Thomas rejected the Mavericks, not for the Pistons.In fact, Thomas also hopes that the Pistons will not draft him.But McCloskey has examined Thomas very carefully and identified Thomas as the kind of point guard who can build a team around him, so McCloskey made up his mind to have him.

"But I don't want to play here," Thomas told McCloskey the first time they met. "I want to play in Chicago." It was also a major reason for his later hatred of Jordan, who took away his darling status in Chicago-that year, the Chicago Bulls had the No. 4 pick in the first round.

"Well, Isiah, it doesn't matter," McCloskey replied, "because we're going to draft you, and you're going to play here."

"But who do you have? Who do you want me to pass the ball to?" Thomas asked.

"I'll find them for you, Isaiah."

Joining the Pistons' first press conference, Thomas said that he would bring the Pistons to the same level as the Celtics and Lakers.Many people below laughed, not believing it.

In his first Pistons practice, Thomas faced off against Ron Lee.Lee is a tough guy who always makes star players suffer.From the start, Lee physically bumped Thomas, over and over, over and over.Finally Thomas turned to face him and said, "One more hit and we'll fight." No more.McCloskey watched from the sidelines, thinking: This fight should be big.

Thomas helped build the Pistons' culture.The Pistons had nothing: no personality, no tradition, no culture, no purpose.Thomas doesn't want his team to go on like this.Since his rookie season, Thomas has gone to watch the NBA Finals every year to explore the secrets of the success of those top teams. "Magic" Johnson and Thomas are very good friends, but when Thomas asked him the secret of the team's success, the magician answered him very frankly: "I won't tell you what makes you win at this level." , You have to find out for yourself." Thomas not only sought answers from people in the basketball circle, but also humbly asked people in the football circle. He gradually understood that for a team project to be successful, everyone on the team must have a common Goals, must reach a consensus: in addition to winning, everything else is not important.That's what happened with the Celtics. Every new member came to Boston and embraced the idea of ​​the team, sacrificing their individual stats for the team, and playing their role, no matter how limited that role might be.

During Thomas' rookie season, McCloskey acquired white center Bill Lambiel.Once, McCloskey inspected Lambiel and felt that Lambiel was slow and stupid, which was a joke, but after Lambiel played in Italy for a year, he came back completely different.Although according to Chuck Daly, Lambiel's feet have never been more than two inches (5 cm) from the ground, but he can shoot, and he is very good at picking rebounds, so the rebounds are better than expected. .Lambiel's talent is still limited, but still better than the big men the Pistons already have.McCloskey and Daly felt that a center who could score and rebound, if a bit slower, was what they needed, so they traded Lambir from the Cavaliers.

It didn't take long for McCloskey and Daly to figure out that Lambiel didn't seem to like basketball at all.He doesn't like training, he is the first one to leave the field every day; It's like I can't beat it.Even so, Lambiel still has a competitive personality.Even if he doesn't like basketball, he at least likes to compete and fight with others.Pistons assistant coach Dick Harter (Dick Harter) felt that at certain times, Lambiel seemed to be performing the tasks assigned by himself. He had to prove that he was not a lazy, slow and useless white center, and that he could play well in the league. the highest level.

Off the pitch, Lambiel was not a pleasant person to deal with, foul-mouthed and rude, especially to reporters.When the opening time of the locker room to the media before the game is about to end, Lambiel will often count down to himself: "There are still 50 seconds, the media...there are 30 seconds, the media... get out, all the media, get out!"

On the court, Lambiel was very dirty, with a lot of petty tricks, and there were endless tricks and tricks.Lambiel knew it wasn't flattering, but he wasn't ashamed.Considering his athletic talent, this is probably the means he has to use to gain a foothold in the NBA.After games, Lambiel sometimes boasted, telling others about the dirty tricks he just used to make opponents like Parish or Kareem lose their cool."It's a psychological game, not a physical game," Lambiel would say.

Even to his coaches and teammates, Lambiel is not polite, even to Daly.Whenever there was a disagreement between the coach and the players, Lambiel not only did not support Daly, but often openly opposed Daley.Daly didn't care, he felt that this was exactly the truth about Lambiel.Some teammates will comment, saying that Lambiel lacks courtesy in dealing with others, but Lambiel has his own reasons: "When I am not playing here, I have no intention of treating any guy here as my friend." Now, they can accept Lambiel's rudeness and indifference, because at least in the game, Lambiel plays hard and is very smart.

Isaiah Thomas felt that there were too many differences between himself and Bill Lambiel. From height to skin color, from growth environment to political stance, the two had little in common.However, this does not prevent the two from working together.Thomas appreciated Lambiel's passion. He felt that the two could become friends, share a room in the training camp, form the cornerstone of this team together, and create a new winning culture for the Detroit Pistons.Dick Hart credits the combination of Thomas and Lambiel with bringing not only mental toughness to the Pistons but wisdom—Hart considers them two of the smartest players of all time.

Pieces of the puzzle have been collected one after another. The offensive guard Vinnie Johnson, the tall guard Dumars who can defend and shoot, the strong and fierce blue-collar insider Mahon, the low-post scorer Dantley who is not tall enough but full of size, and 1986 The long-arm shot blocker Sally and the energy kid Rodman were drafted in 1987.By [-], the Pistons had a solid eight-man rotation, especially around the basket, in what Johnny Bach dubbed "the alligator pool." Stronger, stronger, and more intimidating.

Strong will, solid defense, and rough style of play have gradually become the labels of the "Bad Boys". No one wants to meet them on the court.Thomas made a bold statement: "We are the last gladiator force." Some Pistons players believe that the confrontation intensity of their internal training far exceeds many games in the NBA.Every year on the first day of training camp, Daly will tell his men: The playing time of each of you depends on how hard you work and how well you perform in training.

In the East, the Bulls aimed at the Pistons, and the Pistons aimed at the Celtics, one chasing one and one chasing one. In the 1987-1988 season, the Celtics had 57 wins in the regular season, the Pistons had 54 wins, and the Bulls had 50 wins. The three teams ranked among the top three in the Eastern Conference.If the Bulls want to join the Eastern Conference peak dialogue, they must first pass the Pistons.

The Pistons are ahead of the Bulls, but when the Bulls become the Pistons' inescapable chaser, the Pistons have to find a way to deal with the Bulls.In other words, the Pistons have to find a way to deal with Jordan.For the Pistons, the Bulls are difficult to deal with. In fact, Jordan is difficult to deal with. Except for Jordan, everyone else is not afraid.

(End of this chapter)